For
some time Creative Labs/Cambridge SoundWorks had been happy
enough with releasing low/mid-range priced multimedia
systems, while the likes of Videologic & Klipsch were
much more prominent when it came to the high end. The
higher-end priced Creative systems at the time were more due
to the fact they included a Dolby Digital decoder than
anything else.

Finally though
they’ve decided to raise the bar on their own multimedia
systems, & now offer the MegaWorks 210D & 510D –
high end 2.1 & 5.1 speaker systems based on the Newton
Series MC50 satellites, as offered by Cambridge SoundWorks,
with the 510D offering 500 Watts RMS of power, much like the
Klipsch Promedia 5.1.

In this review I’ll
take a look at what this system has to offer you &
whether Creative’s long awaited re-entry into high-end
multimedia speakers has actually been worth it.

Contents,
Manual & Installation

Initially when I was
informed I’d be getting sent the MegaWorks I wasn’t sure
which version I’d be sent, the 210D or 510D. A few days
later when I got home this rather large package was awaiting
me, so the 510D it was. Everything inside was packed rather
neatly, securely and safely, with pretty much every item in
its own plastic seal & polystyrene compartment. Here’s
a quick overview of what you get with the system;

5
satellite speakers with individual desktop stands

Adjustable
monitor stand (for centre speaker)

Wood
Subwoofer

Ergonomic
designed wired master volume control

3
9 foot/3m cables for each front & centre satellite

2
16 foot/5m cables for each surround satellite

Power
supply cables

User's Guide

The manual for the
system is rather large, more so due to the variety of
languages its wrote in than it containing lots of
information. One of the nicer surprises of the package was
the fact that it contained both a European &
UK/Ireland power cable.

Setting up the
components wasn’t too difficult with the only small
niggles being the cable lengths weren’t printed their
plastic bags & there was no mention of connecting the
red tagged cable into the red plug & black one into the
black plug of the satellites – fairly logic enough though
maybe not to everyone. After connecting the speaker cables
to the satellites all I needed to do was decide whether or
not I wanted to use the stands they are attached to
(Attached with thumbscrews) & position them. Should you
need to a wall mounting kit is provided, though stands are
not included for the system. The center satellite features
an adjustable stand allowing you greater control over the
angle it is to be tilted at. With Creative’s cheaper
systems, e.g. Inspire 5300, 2 stands are include for this
purpose – 1 regular stand, the other titled down (For
placement on a monitor for example), the center stand also
features strips in which to attach Velcro strips so you can
firmly mount that channel into place.

Once I had the
satellites all positioned I placed the subwoofer beneath my
desk & connected the satellites, remote & power
cords to it. Finally I connected both my Audigy & nForce
(Later, Extigy) to the system using the digital & analog
inputs respectively.

Though the package
lacks “proper” stands for placing the rear satellites
high off the ground (or wherever), though while testing out
the system with my DVD setup I was able to fit 2 satellites
to 2 monopole metal stands I purchased from Argos.
These came in at a much cheaper price than the Creative
Labs alternative nicely enough & worked just fine.